National Basketball Association
Penn St. 66, Northwestern 52
When: 9:00 PM ET, Thursday, February 24, 2011
Where: Welsh-Ryan Arena, Evanston, Illinois
Officials:
# Jim Burr, # Glenn Mayborg, # Michael Stephens
Attendance:
4918
By SportsDirect Inc.
Jeff Brooks scored 20 points to lead four players in double figures as Penn State kept its NCAA Tournament hopes alive with a 66-52 victory over host Northwestern on Thursday night.
Talor Battle added 13, David Jackson 12 and Tim Frazier 10 for the Nittany Lions (15-12), who evened their Big Ten mark at 8-8 and have the weekend off before playing host to third-ranked Ohio State on Tuesday.
Penn State preserved the win by going 10 for 12 at the foul line – including Frazier's 6 for 6 – after waiting until 4:19 remained before attempting its first free throw.
Michael Thompson netted a game-high 22 and John Shurna chipped in 10 points and seven rebounds for the Wildcats (16-11, 6-10), who have lost 10 of 11 to the Nittany Lions.
Penn State had torched Northwestern, 65-41, just 11 days before, and it looked like another blowout was in store Thursday as all five starters scored while the Lions raced out to an 18-2 lead on 8-for-9 shooting.
But Penn State cooled to just 4 for 12 the rest of the way, and Northwestern forced 10 turnovers as it pulled to within 26-23 at halftime.
Top Game Performances
| Penn St. |
|
Northwestern |
|
Jeff Brooks 20 |
Scoring |
Michael Thompson 22 |
|
Tim Frazier 10 |
Assists |
Luka Mirkovic 4 |
|
Jeff Brooks 7 |
Rebounds |
John Shurna 7 |
|
Tim Frazier 6 |
Free Throws Made |
John Shurna 5 |
|
Taylor Battle 1 |
Steals |
Michael Thompson 3 |
|
David Jackson 1 |
Blocks |
Luka Mirkovic 1 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Penn St.
|
66 |
56.5 |
4-14 |
10-12 |
19 |
28 |
1 |
3 |
|
| Northwestern
|
52 |
38.5 |
6-24 |
6-9 |
14 |
19 |
2 |
6 |
|